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Caroline was traveling in search of an answer on how to save her daughters. Rick didn’t want her to go now because of the latest happening. He said that Caroline was not completely well and that maybe she should wait for some time. But she was ready to go now; she needed to start now. She couldn’t let her daughter die when she had time to prevent it. And two weeks had already passed, so she could say she was almost okay by now.
Caroline was sitting at a café at a gas station near the highway. There were just a couple of customers eating. It was quiet, so the music could be heard clearly. Caroline was lost in her thoughts while drinking a cup of coffee. She looked tired even as a vampire and the coffee helped to feel better.
She didn’t understand why Rick wanted her to stay. She was doing fine. She was following her routine, resolving some work-related issues and other things she normally did. Also, Caroline had spent time with her daughters. More than usual, but that was good, wasn’t it? There was nothing suspicious that could have made Rick think anything. People just die; it was not a big deal and especially not him. It was just Klaus Mikaelson. They had a thing, and that was all. Caroline had said goodbye to him and was now moving on.
A new song started playing. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember where she had heard it.
Looking out the door I see the rain
Fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations
As their shoes fill up with water
Caroline’s face slowly changed as she recognized where she knew the song from. The world might have been joking about her, but there was nothing funny about it.
Maybe I'm too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight you're on my mind
So... you'll never knowBroken down and hungry for your love
With no way to feed it
Where are you tonight?
Child, ya know how much I need it
Too young to hold on
And too old to just break free and runSometimes a man gets carried away
When he feels like should be having his fun
Much too blind to see the damage he's done
Sometimes a man must awake to find that
Really he has no oneSo I'll wait for you, love
And I'll burn
Will I ever see your sweet return?
Oh, will I ever learn?
Oh-oh, lover, you should've come over
'Cause it's not too late
Caroline noticed that she was suddenly about to cry. This song caused a strange mix of feelings. Her thoughts were working against her. She felt like she was about to start trembling and quickly went to the restroom.
Tears started falling, and she let out a muffled sob, maybe louder than she had intended. The song was barely heard there, but it didn’t make things better. Perhaps Rick was totally right — she couldn’t handle it. She was not fine, and it was a big deal. For the past two weeks, she has kept it all to herself, ignoring what happened. Caroline did not want to appear weak because of what took place more than a decade ago and what she had vowed to keep secret. She couldn’t listen to this song without thinking about Klaus and what they could have been. Maybe she should’ve come over. But she didn’t, and unlike what the song said, it was too late for her to do it.
Caroline was tired of pretending that nothing was happening. She just wanted to talk to somebody about it, but nobody would understand her. Nobody would understand how she could feel this way about a villain. Meeting Klaus years later, Caroline thought about talking to Klaus about it or perhaps she preferred to leave this topic untouched for a couple centuries more. She had thought they had all the time in the world. And when Klaus decided to die, Caroline forced herself not to remember their past. It would only make things worse, because she knew they still had feelings. She knew they always had a thing. After all, Caroline didn’t want to talk about a future they were never going to have.
That’s why Caroline was looking now. She had lost Klaus, and she would not lose one of her daughters. She had to find a way, because she would not be able to handle this loss. She wiped away her tears, making sure she looked okay before returning to the cafe. Caroline would move on and try to focus on the people she could still save. She had been through many deaths of people she loved deeply and would do everything to prevent another one.
“It will pass,” she thought, giving herself one last look in the mirror before leaving the restroom.